Medical marijuana company Cresco Labs is set to acquire a cannabis dispensary in Elmwood Park weeks after the Chicago-based firm announced plans to go public in Canada.

With the purchase, the FloraMedex facility in Elmwood Park will become Cresco’s first wholly owned dispensary in Illinois as the company expands its footprint in the state and elsewhere. Cresco, which co-owns two dispensaries in Buffalo Grove and Champaign, also operates three cultivation centers in Illinois, including one in Joliet that recently doubled its growing capacity.

Cresco’s expansion — fueled by $100 million in private funding it raised earlier this month — is part of a recent flurry of activity among Illinois-based medical marijuana companies. Over the past month, Cresco disclosed plans to go public on a Canadian stock exchange, another firm announced it would be acquired for nearly $700 million, and a new Chicago-based marijuana holding company raised $120 million in financing.

Interest in the drug is increasing in Illinois amid changes in state regulations and a debate over marijuana policy in the race for governor. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation this summer that allows people prescribed opioid painkillers to use medical marijuana, but he has opposed legalizing recreational pot. Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker has said he would work to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

A state report out earlier this month found that use of medical pot has risen 83 percent this year in Illinois, which has more than 46,000 qualified patients. Before the new law, patients had to have one of about 40 conditions, such as cancer or AIDS, to be able to use medical marijuana.

Cresco is expanding its retail footprint at a critical time, Joe Caltabiano, Cresco president and co-founder, said in an email.

“As manufacturers, it’s important to have a direct touch point with the patients to hear their feedback and personal experiences with our brands and identify the need for additional product offerings,” he said.

The FloraMedex dispensary opened in 2016 and employs seven people. Caltabiano said the company plans to hire more dispensary employees based on the increasing patient count.

Being part of Cresco will give the existing FloraMedex employees more opportunities, said Jared Boyar, agent in charge at the dispensary.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close later this year, pending approval from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Cresco employs about 300 people, more than half of whom are in Illinois. The company also has licenses to operate in Pennsylvania and Ohio and has acquired dispensary and cultivation operations in Arizona, Nevada and California.